Page 14 - CLT022420

14 ¦ FEBRUARY 24, 2020 NEWS

¦ From PRISON on PAGE 13 his first day on the stand cracking jokes, earning
seven to nine years they requested in their original him a reprimand from Jackson.
sentencing memo. One prosecutor, Jonathan Kravis, Stone’s defense team was relatively quiet in the
resigned as an assistant U.S. attorney altogether. time between the jury returning its guilty verdict in
The new DOJ sentencing recommendation in November and last week’s sentencing memos.
Stone’s case says he should be incarcerated for an un- One of Stone’s lawyers, Chandler Routman, left
specified amount of time but less than the seven to the case last month. Last week, Stone tapped Seth
nine years. Stone’s attorneys have said their client does Ginsberg, who previously represented alleged mafia
not require incarceration as a part of his sentence. figures like John Gotti Jr. and an alleged member of
Stone’s is represented by a Fort Lauderdale, Flori- the Luchese crime family.
da-based team of attorneys, including Bruce Rogow Ginsberg took the lead in arguing for Stone’s
and Robert Buschel. sentencing to be delayed during Tuesday’s hearing,
The decision to suggest a lower sentence echoed acknowledging that no case law exists that required
a move made weeks earlier in the Flynn sentenc- Jackson to rule on the motion for a new trial before
ing, in which prosecutors asked he be sentenced to the sentencing, while adding it would be “appropri-
prison, more than they had asked for one year ear- ate” for her to do so anyway.
lier. In a later filing, they said probation also would At the same time, outside groups have spoken in
be acceptable. defense of the original line prosecutors on the Stone
Stone’s case itself was a whirlwind from the start: case and against Barr and his running of the Justice
It began with a gag order, then Stone violating the Department.
gag order, Jackson repeatedly ruling against Stone The National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys
legal team ahead of the trial, and Stone again violat- defended the prosecutors in a statement last week,
ing the gag order heading into trial. saying they had done “nothing wrong or improper.”
After the jury returned a guilty verdict, attention And a letter from former DOJ officials calling on Barr
shifted to DOJ. Once Trump weighed in on Twit- to resign has gained more than 2,000 signatures.
ter to say the government’s recommended sentence Others are also coming to the defense of Jackson,
was too harsh, DOJ changed its sentencing recom- who has been targeted by Trump on Twitter in recent
mendations, sparking fears of political interference. days. District of Columbia Chief Judge Beryl Howell
Attorney General William Barr, though, said the said Jackson’s sentence will be based on a number of
decision to change the sentencing recommendation criteria, but “Public criticism or pressure is not a factor.”
was made before Trump took to Twitter. The Federal Judges Association also will hold an
Those recent allegations of political interference “emergency meeting” on the Stone case on Wednesday.
have dominated more talk of Stone’s case than the facts Regardless of what Stone’s sentence is, the possi-
of the charges themselves: Lying to the House Intelli- bility of Trump issuing a pardon hangs over the case.
gence Committee as part of its Russia probe, impeding The president announced a slew of commutations
a congressional investigation and witness tampering. and pardons on Tuesday, including a commutation
The witness stand and exhibits during his No- for former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. He told
vember trial was a who’s who of former top Trump reporters at the time that he had not considered a
campaign officials. Steve Bannon and former deputy pardon for Stone.
campaign chairman Rick Gates testified, and texts When asked if he thought Stone would serve any
between Stone and Trump surrogate Erik Prince time in prison, Trump declined to weigh in. “You’re
were inserted into the record alongside phone re- going to see what happens,” he said.
cords for numbers associated with Trump. ¦

Adding onto the sense of surreality was the tes- Jacqueline Thomsen, based in Washington, is a re-
timony of Randy Credico, a radio host who Stone porter covering D.C. courts and the legal side of
had initially told congressional investigators was his politics. Contact her at [email protected]. On
back channel to WikiLeaks. Credico spent much of Twitter: @jacq_thomsen

CONNECTICUT
Law Tribune